I work offshore and my rig has a policy that we come down a couple days early for covid testing. Once we get our negative results we are cleared for crew change. Once this vaccination (Its not a vaccination by the way) came out, my company like many companies started encouraging for us to get the shot. Only a few people on my rig got the shot, so my company changed its policy. If you get the shot, you dont have to come down to New Orleans early to get tested because those who have the shot dont need to be tested anymore.
Well 1 hitch goes by and here we go. Outbreak on my rig... 11 test positive after someone feels symptoms and reports to the medic. Im at home during this outbreak, and dont know anything about it yet. I get my travel arrangements to go to New Orleans for testing and then Houma to a hotel to await results for the next days crew change. Its not till that afternoon before crew change (By the way check in at the heliport is 5am) we get an email from our radio operator saying we have a Hot Rig. We dont get an option to refuse travel due to possible infection or any of our health concerns for that matter.
We get on the rig and find out that 5 of the 11 were in MY DEPT. And that all were Medivac'd just prior to our arrival. 1 of them was my relief (who is not on the rig cause he was medivac'd and we share a room.) As Im unpacking in my room, my coworker knocks on my door and asks me to come check this shit out. He opens his door and theres a stack of Styrofoam plates, used water bottles, the bedding on beds hadnt even been changed. His room hadnt been cleaned/disinfected since the others in our Dept were quarantined in that room. I tell him to immediately get his shit out of there and dont go in until its disinfected.
Well, after unpacking I get dressed and head into my shop. Theres an Electrician still there from the previous crew. He still has a week left, so we get him to explain to us whats going on. By the end of that day, he tells us he feels kinda bad. We tell him to get his ass to the medic. Well Friday evening rolls around (We got on the rig on a Thursday morning) hes now complaining of severe dry throat, headaches, shivering, and really feeling bad. We tell him to get his ass back to the medic to test. He informs us that he did but tested negative. So he goes test again and now positive. Hes now quarantined. So the rig waits another day, our shop wasnt disinfected until Saturday morning at 1am. The rig tests again and the Electrician I arrived with whos room wasnt cleaned now tests positive.
So far, out of everyone that was positive the only spaces cleaned and/or disinfected was the individual rooms where positive cases were quarantined, and my shop. No other common spaces on this giant rig were cleaned. Not even the galley...
Everyone that has tested negative before arrival, but got sick ON the rig has been sent home and only paid 8hrs per day straight time. And when your hitch is over, not paid at all. We all get paid 13.5 hrs per day for 21 days out here. So in short, we are getting financially punished for catching a virus that my rig has broken its own policy, intentionally disregarded our own safety and put profit over safety. And if you get sick out here because of it, then youll be punished.
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